December 2023

MANHATTAN — Two Kansas State University biologists are leading a study to understand why wild turkey populations are declining in Kansas.David Haukos, associate professor of biology and leader of the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Dan Sullins, assistant professor of biology and faculty member of the unit, received more than $1.8 million to support the research.

PRATT – The time for trout fishing in Kansas has arrived, and this year the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is making angler-inspired updates to the nearly 30-year-old program.Based largely off of on-site interviews conducted with licensed anglers at 25 waterbodies across the state in early 2023, KDWP’s Fisheries Division staff implemented the following for Kansas’ 2023-2024 trout season:Trout fishing waters will be stocked, and the season will begin, on December 1 (as opposed to November 1, so as not to compromise fish health in warmer water often experienced in November)Each trout fishing water will be stocked during the most fished months of the trout season (as opposed to season-wide stockings at indiscriminate times)The season will conclude at the end of March (as opposed to April 15), as only three percent of respondents indicated they fish for trout most in AprilKDWP will stock less often but with higher densities of trout – an indicated preference of anglers surveyedIn total, KDWP plans to stock 30 waterbodies this fall with approximately 62,000 pounds of rainbow trout, providing anglers with ample wintertime fishing opportunities, while simultaneously not competing with other time-honored hunting and fishing traditions.“The trout program is something we’ve been happy to support in Kansas since 1994,” said Jeff Conley, KDWP Fisheries program specialist.